Memories
by Elincia Mahariel
Summary: AU. FMahariel and Alistair do what Morrigan suggests in Lothering and decide to take down Loghain before preparing to defend against the Blight. Rated M for violence, some gore, and occaisional swearing.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Dragon Age does not belong to me (sadly).

**Author's Note:** This story contains a lot of game dialogue for the first few chapters, but I promise I'll start being creative in later chapters.

* * *

**Prologue**

He was going to kill Zevran.

He entered the library in Soldier's Peak to find that, once again, the elf had left his trap-making supplies out. Since he knew the elf never cleaned up after himself, he started trying to sort out the mess. He picked up a half completed leg hold trap and placed it in one of the many cabinets, taking care not to touch the razor-sharp edges. He gathered an armload of poison vials and set those in the cabinet as well. As he shoved the vials into the cabinet, his palm brushed over the jaws of the trap, leaving a gash from his ring finger down to his wrist. He bit off a yelp of pain, knowing he would have many angry soldiers to answer to in morning if he woke them this late at night.

His hand throbbed with pain, so he immediately began his search for bandages. He finished searching one shelf of the cabinet and started on another when he thought he heard a noise. His head popped out of the shelter of the cabinet and he glanced around the room. Satisfied that he was alone, he resumed his search.

The intruder, of course, was perched atop the very cabinet the man was searching through, tossing the roll of bandages from hand to hand. She peered down at him for a few moments before dropping off the cabinet and landing directly beside him, one arm hooked around his neck.

"Looking for these, Alistair?" she asked, dangling the bandages in front of his face.

"Great, you found them! I've been looking everywhere," he replied sarcastically. He made a grab for the bandages only to have the woman dance out of reach, a mischievous grin on her face.

Alistair's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Maker's breath, Leliana! Are you really going to make me chase you? We both know I'm not good at that."

Her smile turned kind as she held out the bandages towards him. He took them and sat down on a table, awkwardly trying to wind the bandage around his wrist using his left hand. Leliana took the bandages and hopped up on the desk beside him, allowing her feet to swing childishly.

"Let me do it. You're just going to hurt yourself more," she said kindly.

"How would I do that?" he asked incredulously. She raised her eyebrows at him in response. He winced as his hand gave another painful throb and he held it out to her. They sat in a friendly silence while she cleaned and bandaged the cut.

"Thanks for the help," he said softly. "I'll get a healer to look at that in the morning," he added as he turned to exit the library.

"Alistair?"

"Hm?"

"Are you doing all right?" Leliana asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm sure my hand will be–"

"That's not what I meant!" she snapped.

Alistair swallowed and became occupied with picking a loose thread off his shirt. Leliana grabbed his arm and spun him around. "You can't keep going like this, Alistair! It's been a year since she-" Her voice cracked and she swallowed. "You have to let go."

Alistair tried unsuccessfully to swallow the rapidly forming lump in his throat. "I can't talk about this right now, Leliana."

"That's mabari shite and you know it!" she yelled. "You have been pushing everyone away, and we're tired of it! Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother trying to help you."

"Did I ever ask you to stay?" he whispered venomously. She glared at him and stomped out of the library.

Alistair stood there, motionless, for a long time. All of the emotions he had tried so desperately to bury for the past two years were threatening to overwhelm him.

"Damn you, Leliana," he grumbled, amazed at how weak and uneven his own voice sounded. He rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, then snatched them away as a jolt of pain shot through his wrist. He nearly ran out the door of library and was back in his own quarters in minutes. He fell backwards onto his bed and no sooner had his head touched the pillow than he was sitting up again. His eyes frantically searched his room for something, anything to distract him from the pain deep in his chest. His eyes fell on his sword. He grabbed it ran to training room, his pace increasing as he stopped caring about the loud thudding of his boots on the stone floors, only wanting the pain to stop.

Once he entered the training room, he drew his sword and began to run through a series of sword drills. His breathing soon came in gasps, but he continued, slicing and stabbing the training dummies until they were reduced to rags. The rhythm of the movements flooded over him, blocking out all thought but which stroke came next. Deep inside he knew that it was only a short reprieve, and he would soon have to face the pain that ate away at him.

His sword clattered to the floor as he sank to his knees, and he finally let the tears come. It seemed that tonight, nothing could block out the flood of memories, reminders of what he had lost.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Two years earlier_

"Do you see that?" Tamlen asked, pointing to a set of tracks on the muddy forest floor. "It looks like boot prints."

Elincia crouched down to examine the footprints. "Only Dalish hunters come this far into the forest, and none of us would have been careless enough to leave tracks." Her fingers lightly traced the outline of the impression. "These tracks had better not be what I think they are."

Tamlen's curious expression twisted into one of disgust. "Shems."

"There's more over there," she said. "At least three sets."

"The trail's fresh. If we hurry, we might catch them." He thought for a moment. "We should split up. The set you're looking at leads away from the others," he said, gesturing with his bow.

Elincia's green eyes sparkled with amusement. "What are we waiting for?" she asked, and with that she dashed off into the forest. A ghost of a smile appeared on Tamlen's face as he ran to catch up with the other humans.

* * *

Elincia raced through the forest, her booted feet barely making a sound. She glanced at the ground to assure herself she was still following the trail. When she looked back up, she discovered that a fallen tree blocked her path, with only a small space beneath it. She somersaulted through the narrow gap, regaining her feet quickly but getting a mouthful of dead leaves in the process. She spat them to the side as she continued to run, trying not to think about the worms, or worse yet, spiders that lurked in the leaves she had nearly swallowed.

A noise to her right caught her attention, and she whipped around, bow drawn, only to see Tamlen's blond head bobbing up and down as he dashed after his quarry. Elincia hurried to catch up.

"Is it just me, or are they getting close to our camp?" she asked.

Tamlen nodded. "Too close." A wicked grin lit his face. "We're going to have to put a stop to that, won't we?"

Elincia's laugh dropped off abruptly as the sound of someone crashing through to undergrowth not far ahead of them reached her ears. "By the creators, are all shemlen that loud?" she asked.

Tamlen shrugged. "I'll circle ahead. You stay on them."

"Got it," she said as Tamlen sped up and wheeled to the side. He soon disappeared into the maze of trees.

She allowed her pace to relax. After all, the foolish humans could be heard for hundreds of paces. The noises ahead of her stopped abruptly as she heard a cry of surprise and fear, obviously coming from one of the humans. Her pace increased and she smirked as she heard one of the humans scream, "It's a Dalish!"

"And you three are somewhere you shouldn't be," Tamlen hissed.

The trio of humans was within her sight. They were dressed in simple clothes and carrying no weapons she could see. One of them had fallen to the ground and Tamlen had an arrow aimed between his eyes. Elincia nocked an arrow in her bow and waited for the right moment to show herself.

"Let us pass elf." said the man who had fallen as he regained his feet. "You have no right to stop us!"

"No? We will see about that, won't we?" said Tamlen, his eyes narrowing in anger. She chose that moment to emerge from the bushes, her bow drawn and aimed at the obvious leader of the group.

"You're just in time for the fun," he snorted.

"Are they bandits?" she asked with a cruel smile. Thievery wasn't a terrible crime, but the Dalish would still punish the shemlen.

"We aren't bandits, I swear!" cried the smallest of the group. "Please don't hurt us!"

Tamlen scoffed. "You shemlen are pathetic. It's hard to believe you ever drove us from our homeland."

"W-we've never done nothing to you Dalish!" stuttered the leader. "We didn't even know this forest was yours!" he added.

"This forest isn't ours, fool. You've stumbled to close to our camp," he explained, maintaining his disdainful expression. "You shems are like vermin—we can't trust you not to make mischief. What do you say, lethallan?" he asked her. "What should we do with them?"

Elincia considered the question for a moment. "I'd like to know what they were doing here."

Tamlen looked at her with surprise and confusion evident on his face. "Does it matter? Hunting or banditry, we'll need to move camp if we let them live."

"I-look…we didn't come here to be trouble," explained one of the men. "We just found a cave…" he said, looking to the leader for reassurance.

"Yes, a cave!" the leader continued for him. "With ruins like I've never seen! We thought there might be, uh…" his voice trailed off as he stared at his feet and shifted uncomfortably.

"Treasure," Tamlen finished for him. "So you're more akin to thieves than actual bandits."

"We know this forest" said Elincia, completely sure of herself. "There are caves, but no ruins. You lie," she hissed, tightening her hold on her bow as she prepared to fire.

"I-I have proof!" cried the leader. He held out a stone tablet about the size of his hand towards Tamlen. "Here—we found this just inside the entrance," he said as Tamlen replaced his arrow in his quiver and took the tablet.

His eyes widened in surprise at what he saw written on the tablet. "This tablet has carvings…is this elvish?" he asked in disbelief. "Written elvish?"

"There's more in the ruins!" The man gulped. "We didn't get very far in, though…"

"Why not?" asked Elincia.

"There was a demon!" cried the small man. "It was huge, with black eyes! Thank the Maker we were able to outrun it!"

"A demon?" asked Tamlen with a roll of his eyes. "Where is this cave?"

"Just off to the east, I think," said the leader, pointing to the west. "There's a cave in the rock face, with a huge hole just inside it."

Tamlen placed the stone tablet into pouch on his belt and drew his bow again. "Well? Do you trust them? Shall we let them go?"

She nodded. "I think we've frightened them enough. They won't bother us."

"I hope you're right," he said.

Elincia gestured with her bow. "Run, and don't look back," she growled.

"Thank you, miss! We're most grateful—"

"RUN!" she screamed, as she loosed her arrow into the man's hand. He screamed as his companions practically dragged him from the clearing.

Tamlen snorted at the humans. "Cowards," he grumbled under his breath. "Well, shall we see if there's any truth to their story? These carvings make me curious."

"Shouldn't we inform the keeper?" she asked.

Tamlen shrugged. "She might be interested in the carvings, but let's see if there's anything more before we get excited. Besides, we're already here." He turned away and started walking. "Now, they said it was to the east…"

"But they pointed to the west."

"To the west, then."

* * *

"This must be the cave," he said. "I don't remember seeing this before, do you?"

She shook her head. "I don't remember it either. Something is very wrong here."

Tamlen laughed and ruffled her dark red hair. "Always the careful one. Fine, but I'm not running back until I know there's something worth making a fuss over." He poked her gently in the ribs. "Come on, let's at least see what's there. How dangerous could it be?"

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "We ended up fighting a pack of angry wolves last time you said that."

He laughed. "It wasn't a _full _pack," he said. "Besides, this is different. It's just a cave, lethallan. We'll be back in camp before you know it!"

* * *

"Spiders! Why did it have to be spiders?" cried Elincia as three massive spiders dropped from the ceiling of the ruins. She drew her twin curved daggers and stabbed at the first creature's head. It let out an awful shriek as it fell to the ground and curled into a ball. The next spider was ready for her, and it skittered to the side as she charged it with seeming abandon.

Elincia, however, had anticipated the spider's sidestep. As soon as she passed the creature, she planted her foot and changed direction, now coming at the spider from behind. She opened two slashes in the creature's huge back section, spraying green slime everywhere.

Meanwhile, Tamlen was busy with the last creature. It slashed at his torso with its four front legs while he tried to deflect the blows with his shield. Seeing an opening, he slashed down at the creature with his sword, nearly splitting it in two.

"I'm beating you," said Elincia triumphantly.

"No, you're not." Tamlen wrenched his sword free. "That kill puts me at seven today."

"You only killed three wolves! I killed five."

"I actually killed six."

"Then we're tied. For now," she shot back, trying to wipe the green slime off her blades. "Ugh. This stuff _never_ comes off."

"I can't believe how squeamish you get over a few bugs," he snickered.

"They were half as tall as me!" she cried.

Tamlen laughed at the indignant expression on her face. "Let's keep moving."

She nodded. "Agreed."

They moved swiftly and silently through the ruins, encountering more spiders and dispatching them just as quickly as they did the first ones. Both of the elves had nearly decided to turn back when Tamlen noticed something.

"I can't believe this. You recognize this statue, don't you?" he asked.

Elincia stared at the statue for a few moments. "It's worn, but it looks vaguely familiar."

"Back when our people lived in Arlathan, statues like these honored the creators. When the shems enslaved us, much of that lore was lost." He moved closer to inspect the statue. "This looks like human architecture…with a statue of our people. Can these ruins date back to the time of Arlathan?"

"It's possible. The keeper might know more when she sees it."

Tamlen shook his head in disbelief. "I never would have guessed ancient elves might have lived here. With humans!"

Elincia turned to continue down the passage when she saw a door. "Tamlen, look. Maybe there'll be something of interest in there."

"Lead on," he said, drawing his sword and slinging his shield across his arm.

She moved towards the door, being careful to check the ceiling for spiders, when she felt the floor beneath her feet sink. She looked down in surprise as green gas leaked seemed to leak out of the floor, making her throat burn and her eyes stream.

"Lethallan, what happened?" cried Tamlen, a blur in the cloud of gas.

"There was a trap! We need to get out of here!" she called back, coughing as she breathed in the fumes. She had barely taken two steps towards what she thought was the way out when she tripped over something on the floor. She screamed as she felt a bony hand grab her ankle. She kicked and flailed until her leg was free. She leapt to her feet. Her vision swam and a horrible noise echoed through the hallway.

Her vision cleared and she realized she was staring straight into the face of a skeleton. It opened its mouth and she heard the terrible noise again. It swung at her with a dagger, intent on opening a gash in her stomach. Elincia jumped back, sucking in her stomach as she felt the swish of the knife's passage. She drew one of her daggers and cracked the hilt down on its skull and slipped the other into its spine. The creature let out the same awful screech and crumpled to the ground. She heard a loud clatter as Tamlen smashed another corpse into a wall with his shield, snapping every bone in its torso. The last skeleton charged him, its greatsword held high above its head. Tamlen spun around and blocked the greatsword with his shield, lashing out with his sword at its legs. Elincia tried to move towards him, but she crumpled to the ground after taking a single step. Tamlen finished the skeleton quickly and pulled a lever that was cleverly concealed in the wall. The gas dissipated quickly. A sudden bout of nausea struck her and she retched violently.

"Are you alright?" Tamlen asked as he tried in vain to keep her hair from getting vomited on.

"I think so," she replied. "We should go back to camp. It was stupid of us to come here without help."

"We've come so far, lethallan." he reasoned, obviously wanting to continue. "Besides, if we go back now, someone else will take credit for what_ we_ found. Someone like Merrill." He knew he had won the argument when her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Fine, we'll keep going, but it's all your fault when something bad happens." she said, moving to open the door. Tamlen shrugged and followed her into the room.

The chamber was huge, with a towering mirror standing on a dais in the center. The ceiling seemed to disappear above their heads. The elves, however, had very little time to examine the room. Their attention was fixed on the bear that emerged from the shadows, if they could even call it that. It had what appeared to be spines coating its body, and its hide had rotted away in places, revealing the yellowed bone underneath. Tamlen's eyes widened in fear as the beast roared and charged straight at him. He steeled himself, then dodged to the side just as the bear reached him. He rolled, regaining his feet just in time to watch the beast raise its mighty paw and bring it down on his companion, grazing her shoulder. He yelled, regaining the beast's attention.

As the bear charged Tamlen, Elincia drew her bow and fired, the arrow penetrating deep into its flank. Unbelievably, the beast didn't seem to notice or care. Tamlen engaged the bear, dodging its snapping jaws again and again as he opened cuts on its head and forelegs. Elincia dropped her bow and drew her daggers, charging the bear and leaping onto its back. She gripped it tightly with her legs and buried both daggers, hilt deep, in between its shoulder blades. This time, the beast did notice the pain. It bellowed and reared up on its hind legs, intent on dislodging its assailant.

And dislodge her it did. Elincia lost her grip and fell to the floor, landing flat on her back, winded and barely able to move. She felt as if she was watching from far away as Tamlen slashed at the beast's stomach before impaling it on his sword. The bear fell as he wrenched his sword out and ran to her. He yelled her name, but his voice was muffled as if she were underwater. He yelled at her again before slapping her across the face.

She came back to herself, gasping for breath and feeling a pain in her shoulder. Tamlen helped her to stand before he checked her for injuries.

"Are you all right?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye.

She nodded. "I'll be fine." She winced, rubbing her spine. "By the creators, what _was _that thing?"

"I've never seen anything like it. It looked like it might have been a bear, but I have no idea what it is now." He stared in horror at the corpse before looking around the entire room.

"Look at _that_!" he said, gesturing to the mirror. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I think it has writing on it…"

She grabbed his arm. "Stand back. We can't be sure it's safe."

He shook her off. "It sat here for who knows how many centuries—what could be so dangerous? Don't worry, I won't break it." He took a step towards the mirror. "I wonder what this writing his for? May be this isn't—hey, did you see that? I think something moved inside the mirror." He took another step towards it, as if in a trance.

"Get away from it, Tamlen!" she cried, afraid for her friend.

"Hold on, I just want to see what it is. Don't you see it? There it is again!" he said. Elincia stared at the mirror and saw, to her surprise, that ripples had appeared on the mirror. It almost looked like water.

"Can you feel that? I think it knows we're here. I just need to take a closer look." He mounted the steps of the dais the mirror was perched on while Elincia hung back. "It's…showing me places. I can see…some kind of city…underground?" She flinched as his fingers brushed against the glass, leaving more ripples. "And…there's a great blackness…" His eyes widened in horror as he snatched his hand back. "It-it saw me! Help, I can't look away!" he cried as the mirror became covered with the strange ripples. Elincia could hear a low, menacing voice emanating from the mirror.

"Tamlen!" she screamed and sprinted towards him, trying to grab him, to pull him away from the mirror. Her fingers had nearly touched his arm when the mirror exploded, throwing her back. The voice became a roar, filling her mind with its rage as the world faded to black.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He awoke to light streaming into his tent through a tear in the thick canvas. He rolled over and firmly shut his eyes, forcing himself to go back to sleep. The sound of running feet reached the outside of his tent and he gave up on his attempt to catch a few more minutes of rest.

"Oi, Alistair! Are you awake?"

"No." He sighed and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. Only Daveth, the new Grey Warden recruit, would wake him this early.

Daveth laughed and poked his head through the flap of the tent. "Well, since you're _not _awake, I guess I _won't _tell you that Duncan has returned and he's brought a new recruit with him."

"Duncan's back?" he asked with a smile. He grinned and shoved his way past Daveth and out of the tent before the man could respond. He stretched and took a moment to look around at the army camped within the walls of Ostagar, an old but strong fortress that had been built to hold back the Chasind Wilders. The rows of tents filled the section of the fortress devoted to the army and spilled into the surrounding plains.

Daveth punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Don't you want to hear about the recruit? I heard she's a woman!" Daveth's eyes lit up with a craving that Alistair couldn't help but cringe at.

"Something tells me she won't be willing to jump into your tent Daveth. She might react like that girl from yesterday—"

"I learned my lesson," he interjected while gently touching his blackened eye. "I should probably go do something…uh…important," he mumbled before setting off at a jog towards the cook's tent. Breakfast wouldn't be served for another hour, but Daveth always tried to pinch a few scraps to satisfy his enormous appetite.

Alistair pulled on his armor and set off at a fast walk towards the main gates of Ostagar. Teryn Loghain marched past him, with his typical sour expression. Alistair stopped to bow respectfully, a bow that the Teryn did not return. He shrugged and continued on his way. Being a junior member of the Grey Wardens didn't grant him much status. He was nearly at the front gates when the Revered Mother stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"I need you to deliver a message to a mage by the name of Darien. Tell him he needs to speak with me," she said, managing to make him feel small despite his being a full head taller than the woman.

"Can't one of the messengers do it? I'm kind of busy…" he said uncertainly. His voice trailed off as the woman glared at him.

"Let me put it differently. You _will_ deliver a message to that mage _immediately_ or I will make sure you spend the rest of your time at Ostagar cleaning the latrines. Do I make myself clear?" she asked, still glaring at him.

"Yes, ma'am," he grumbled, turning away before she could flash him her smug smile. He hurried off to find the mage, disappointed that he would not be the first to greet Duncan at the gates. He passed Ser Jory in his search, and the man watched him pass by in confusion before jogging to catch up with him.

"Why aren't you at the front gates?" he asked. "I thought you would want to see Duncan."

"The Revered Mother caught me. I have to deliver a message to some mage named Darien."

"I haven't seen him, but he's normally off on his own somewhere."

"Thank you Jory," he said with a genuine grin. Unlike Daveth, he didn't mind Ser Jory. He didn't speak much, but at least he wasn't trying to bed every woman in The Ferelden army.

His search for the mage took him into an area of Ostagar he was unfamiliar with. The only interesting thing in this area was the table where battle plans were made. He trudged up a ramp and was greeted with a breathtaking view of Ostagar. The spires and towers soared into the sky, seeming to touch the clouds. Apparently, there _was _something of interest in this area. He tore his eyes away from the scene long enough to notice the other occupant of the platform. The man appeared to be a mage, with his staff and long robes. He glared at Alistair when he caught him staring. Alistair marched over him and cleared his throat.

"Are you Darien?" he asked.

The mage rolled his eyes. "I suppose you have some menial task for me to perform," he sneered. "What is it now? Haven't Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?"

Alistair stood up straighter, refusing to back down. "I simply came to deliver a message from the Revered Mother, ser mage. She desires your presence."

"What her Reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me! I am busy helping the Grey Wardens—by the king's orders I might add!" he snapped in his overly pompous voice.

Alistair's gaze traveled to the side as he tried to think of a sarcastic retort when he noticed someone else had joined them. She had dark red hair pulled into a messy braid and a pale tattoo on her forehead. Her pointed ears and unusual weapons identified her as a one of the Dalish. She stood slightly off to the side, trying not to disrupt their conversation.

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" He smirked despite his belated response. There was no way he was going to let the mage treat him like horse dung, especially not in front of someone else.

Darien glared at him. "Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner!"

"Yes, I was harassing you by delivering a message." he retorted.

Darien's eyes narrowed to slits. "Your glibness does you no credit."

Alistair flashed him a huge grin. "Here I thought we were getting along so well. I was even going to name one of children after you." His expression changed abruptly to a glare. "The grumpy one." The mage turned red with anger as the elf stifled a laugh. When Alistair glanced at her, her shoulders were shaking as she covered her mouth with one hand.

The mage snorted. "Enough. I will speak to the woman if I must." He turned to walk away when he discovered the elf blocking his path. "Get out of my way, fool!" She crossed her arms and stared at him until he finally stomped around her and down the ramp.

Alistair shifted slightly to stand in front of her. "You know, the one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together," he said.

"I agree completely?" she said hesitantly, eyebrows creeping up her forehead.

"It's like a party! We could all stand in a circle and hold hands. That would give the darkspawn something to think about." She laughed softly. He racked his brain, trying to remember noticing her around the fortress. "Wait, we haven't met, have we? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage."

She smiled. "Don't worry, I'm no mage," she said with a timid smile.

Alistair smiled back at her. "Less being yelled at for me then. Though the day is still young." He studied her for a moment before he finally figured out who she was. "Wait, I do know who you are! You're Duncan's new recruit, from the Brecilian Forest." She nodded. "I should have known it was you from the start. I apologize."

"And you must be Alistair," she said. "Duncan told me to come find you."

"He mentioned me?" he asked. "Nothing bad, I hope." He cleared his throat. "As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining."

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Elincia."

"Right, that was the name! You know, it just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is?" he asked teasingly.

She bit her lip and shrugged. "Maybe we're just too smart for you." She had a mischievous smile on her face.

He laughed, relieved she hadn't taken his joke badly. "Probably true. But now that you're here, what does that make you?" He bit the inside of his cheek. Would she think he was calling her stupid?

"Just one of the boys," she said with a pointed look.

"Sad, isn't it?" he teased, hoping she wouldn't be offended. "So, I'm curious; have you ever actually encountered darkspawn?"

"Once." she whispered. Her expression remained neutral, but he saw her eyes become glassy.

"When I fought my first one, I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was. I can't say I'm looking forward to encountering another," he said gently. Elincia still seemed distracted, as if she were remembering something. "Well, whenever you're ready, let's get back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started."

She shook herself from her stupor and smiled at him. "I'm looking forward to traveling with you, Alistair."

"Really? Glad to hear it." He gestured towards the ramp. "Lead on."

* * *

They walked through Ostagar together. Alistair cracked jokes that never failed to make her laugh until her sides felt like they were about to split. He gave her a quick tour of Ostagar, which she tuned out as she had already explored the entire fortress.

"Look, there's the mabari kennels," he said.

"Where?" she asked, trying to appear as if she had been listening.

Alistair glanced at her. "Have you ever seen a mabari war hound before?"

"Um, I think so," she replied.

"Let's go take a look. We should only be a second."

Mabari, it turned out, were massive war dogs. They had muscular shoulders and paws the size of Elincia's face. Some dogs had war paint applied to make them appear more intimidating. They were obviously capable of dealing a huge amount of damage. Elincia stood a few feet back from the fence, unsure how to act around the terrifying creatures. Alistair, however, strode up to the fence and called one of the dogs over. He reached through the bars of the cage to scratch its ears. The hound's tongue dangled from its mouth and it let out a happy bark.

Alistair reached over to her and took her hand. "Come here. They won't bite you," he said reassuringly. He moved her hand through the bars to rest on the dog's head. "They like it when you scratch their ears." She did as he said and the dog rolled over on its back, so she bent down to rub its stomach.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

She grinned at the dog as it ran to claim its share of the food that had been placed in the cage by the trainer. "They're adorable."

Alistair chuckled. "They are, aren't they? Just wait until you see them in action."

Her gaze drifted to another cage. This had only one mabari occupying it. She squatted beside the cage and stared at the restless mabari. It paced back and forth across its cage, pausing only to growl at the dogs in the other kennel.

"That one's sick." Elincia turned towards the source of the voice and discovered a man leaning on the fence. "I'm the kennel master, by the way," he said.

"What happened to the dog?" she asked.

"It swallowed darkspawn blood in the last skirmish. I have some herbs that might work to slow the spread of the disease, but he won't let me near him. I'd need to muzzle him before I could do anything, and he hasn't let anyone near him." He shook his head and stared sadly at the hound.

"Do you want me to try?" she asked uncertainly.

The man shrugged. "Why not? I've tried everything else." He passed her the muzzle and opened the kennel door for her. She knelt a few feet from the dog and stared straight at it for a few minutes, unmoving. The dog had quit pacing and was growling quietly at her. It soon stopped growling and stared at her, its eyes glazed and nearly lifeless. She reached out her hand to touch the dog's head. It didn't resist, so she gently slipped the muzzle onto its head.

The kennel master nodded as she exited the cage. "Thanks. I'll try the herbs I have here, but I'm not sure they'll be much help." He paused and thought for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to be heading into the Wilds, would you? I know an herb that just might work."

"I'm not sure, but I might be."

"Really? Could you try to find a flower while you're in there? It's white with a red center."

"I'll take a look," she said.

Alistair rose clumsily to his feet and wiped the dirt off his hands. "Elincia?" he called to her. She turned to face him. "We should get going. Duncan's been waiting a while."

* * *

Duncan paced around the large bonfire as he waited for the recruits to arrive. He glanced nervously at the sky and noted that it was just past noon. The recruits were giving themselves precious little time to complete the Joining ritual.

They finally arrived a few minutes later. Alistair grinned at him in his usual boyish fashion, while Elincia seemed to be hanging behind Daveth and Ser Jory. She stared at him with a cold look that disturbed him deeply. She had been angry with him since the moment she had met him, and he wanted her to feel welcome in the Grey Wardens. She never would feel as if she belonged if she continued to hate him, the commander of the Wardens.

"Are you ready to begin preparations?" he asked briskly. He turned to Alistair. "Assuming you are finished riling up mages?"

Alistair shrugged and blushed. "The Revered Mother ambushed me. She wields guilt so well she should be in the army."

Duncan sighed. "She didn't force you to sass the mage. We can't afford to antagonize anyone. There are many people who search for ammunition against the Warden's, Alistair."

"I'm sorry, Duncan. You're right," he said meekly.

"Since you're all here, we can begin. All four of you are heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to gather three vials of darkspawn blood," he said as he passed each recruit a small vial.

"What's the second task?" asked Ser Jory.

"There was once a Grey Warden archive in the Wilds. It was abandoned long ago, and we realized quite recently that a few scrolls have been left behind. They were magically sealed for protection. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls," he said.

"What's so important about these scrolls?" Elincia snapped.

"They are old treaties," he replied kindly, though he was beginning to get annoyed by her hostility. "They were promises of support made to the Grey Wardens long ago. Many have forgotten the commitment they made, and I suspect they need something to remind them," he said sadly. There had been a time when the Grey Wardens were viewed highly, but now they were seen as unnecessary. Even Teryn Loghain, an experienced strategist, believed that the Blight could be defeated without them.

"Alright," said Ser Jory. "Get the treaties, gather the blood."

"Sounds easy enough," piped in Daveth.

Duncan gently pulled Elincia aside as the others hurried to the gate. A look of surprise flashed across her face, but she hid it well.

"How do you like Ostagar?" he asked cautiously.

"I preferred the forest," she replied tensely.

He sighed. "You had no choice, Elincia. Staying even a day longer to search for your friend could have been too long."

"So I should just give up on Tamlen because he _could_ be dead? I survived, so why couldn't he?" A single tear rolled down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away. "He could have crawled out of that cave too."

"I'm sorry, but I saw no signs of anyone but you near the cave."

"You should have let me search!" she snapped. Her voice cracked as she blinked back tears.

"You are infected with the darkspawn Taint, Elincia! You're lucky you survived this long."

She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye. He noticed that her eyes were glazed with the Taint and her skin was deathly pale. "Are you finished, commander? I need to prepare for the Joining ritual, whatever that involves," she hissed. She turned and left before he could reply.

Duncan shook his head sadly as he watched her go. "Maker save you, child," he whispered. "Maker save us all."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

There were four of them.

The three men seemed completely idiotic, but the woman was observant. She had come close to discovering her pursuer. Once. It was not going to happen again. Their pursuer had taken the form of a raven so she could stalk them from the skies. Unseen…waiting for her chance…

They moved with an objective in mind. One of the men seemed to know where they were going. He was the leader of the group, she noted, but he always referred to the woman, who barely looked old enough to have joined the army that was gathering in the nearby fort. Not only was he a weak leader, but he was also completely incompetent at moving quietly. She winced every time he snapped a twig or stomped on a log that threatened to crumble under his feet.

She landed on a branch ten paces in front of them and pretended to preen herself. She had watched as birds did this countless times, so she could mimic their movements exactly. The woman's eyes only rested on her for a moment before she returned her gaze to the path ahead. The other two men didn't even glance upwards. She had learned a long time ago that people rarely looked up.

The man urged them to go faster. Apparently they needed to complete their mission before nightfall. She lifted off and circled a few times before flying ahead of the group. She noticed a ruined tower that the group was heading straight towards. She banked and landed just outside the tower. The bushes here would offer perfect cover. She could watch the group without them ever knowing she was there…unless she wanted them to find her.

The bird's body dissolved around her to reveal the human woman underneath. She adjusted her clothes and ran her hand through her long, black hair. She crouched and waited for the group to appear.

Her yellow eyes flashed as they entered the tower, if it could even be called a tower. It was barely more than a ruined array of pillars and stone tiles that the forest had nearly swallowed. The group wasted no time looking around. There was only one item that stood out in the mess of the tower. It was a chest that had been smashed open. The woman carefully checked that area around the chest for traps before pulling off the ruined pieces of the lid.

"It's empty," she told the blond man. He peered over her shoulder to check for himself.

She nearly snorted in disgust but managed to restrain herself. They didn't even need to open the chest to know its contents were long gone. Didn't they understand the nature of the forest? The Dalish woman might, but the men certainly did not.

She decided to reveal herself to them, more to be certain they didn't harm her forest than aid them. She planned exactly what she would say as she moved around the bush and stood up. All three of them had their backs to her. She adjusted her clothes one last time.

"Well, well. What have we here?" she asked. She smirked as the three men jumped. The elf's hand flew to her daggers but she didn't draw them. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned?"

She moved closer. "Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?" She rested her gaze on the blond man. He gulped and looked away quickly. She had their respect now. Or they were simply afraid of her. She snapped her head towards the elf. "What say you, hmm? Scavenger, or intruder?"

The elf allowed her hands to fall from her daggers but she was still wary. "I do not mean to intrude," she said. Her voice was soft but it held an air of confidence. "The Grey Wardens once owned this tower."

She snorted. "'Tis a tower no longer. The Wilds have obviously claimed this desiccated corpse." She moved closer to the group before she continued. They were becoming more and more uncomfortable. She moved past them to stare into the trees. Her back was to them but they still did not dare attack. "I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go?' I wondered. 'Why are they here?' And now, you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her," whispered the blond man to the elf. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby." He would have to work on being quieter. Her hearing had been tuned to perfection by the unforgiving forest.

"What, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" she cried sarcastically.

"Yes. Swooping is bad." He glanced nervously behind him.

"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is! She'll turn us into toads!" cried the skinny man.

The most nervous man promptly stamped on his foot. "If she truly is a witch, you shouldn't make her mad," he whispered urgently.

"Witch of the Wilds?" she snorted. "Such idle fancies those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" She returned her gaze to the elf. "You there. Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

"My name is Elincia. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. Her tone suggested it was not such a pleasure.

"Well, that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the Wilds!" She softened her expression slightly. "You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose?" She waited for a nod from the elf before she continued. "You sought something in that chest? Something that is here no longer?"

"Here no longer?" asked the blond man. His tone was much too accusatory for her liking. "You stole them, didn't you? You're some kind of sneaky…witch thief!"

She grinned sarcastically at him. "How very eloquent. How does one steal from dead men?"

"Quite easily it seems." He straightened his back in an attempt to look intimidating. "Those documents are Grey Warden property and I suggest you return them."

She glared at him. "I will not, for it was not I who removed them! Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish. I am not threatened."

"If you didn't remove them, who did?" asked Elincia. She had positioned herself between Morrigan and the blond man.

"'Twas my mother, in fact," she responded.

"Do you know where she is?" she asked.

"Finally, a sensible request! I like you," she said with a slight smile.

"I'd be careful," the blond man cautioned. "First it's 'I like you', then ZAP! Frog time." His voice was absurdly high when he mimicked her. Her hands tightened involuntarily into fists.

"She'll put us all in the pot, she will!" cried the skinny man. "Just you watch."

"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'll be a nice change," hissed the quiet man.

Morrigan sighed. Why did humans have to be so idiotic? "I will take you to my mother, if you wish." She turned away from them and walked into the forest without checking to see if they were following. The clink of chain mail and the sound of snapping twigs that soon followed confirmed that they had decided to come with her.

The clanking and snapping seemed to grow louder. The group was going to get her killed if she wasn't careful. After a few minutes of picking her way through the undergrowth she raised her hand and signaled for them to stop.

"Is it your goal to make as much noise as possible?" she hissed at the blond man. He adjusted his helmet and opened his mouth to apologize, but no sound came out. To her surprise, Elincia shot a mild glare at him.

"She's right, Alistair," she said sharply. "You could bring the entire horde down on us if you don't quiet down."

An idea came to her and she smirked. "Maybe we should just tie him to a tree and leave him here," she suggested casually.

Elincia promptly scowled at her. "We don't want to _kill_ him," she snapped.

Morrigan rolled her eyes and turned away. Elincia had almost seemed tolerable for a moment.

She took an indirect route to her mother's hut. She wanted to be rid of the group quickly but her mother had warned her that she must to keep their hut's location a secret. After a long hike through the mazelike forest, the tree's thinned and disappeared to reveal a small hut. It was perched a tiny piece of dry land in the middle of a swamp. An old woman stood outside the hut. She radiated power despite her unimpressive size. Her yellow eyes matched Morrigan's exactly. She looked amused by the peculiar group that Morrigan led to her hut.

"Greetings mother." She gestured towards the group behind her. "I bring before you four Grey Wardens who—"

"I see them, girl," her mother interrupted. Her voice creaked and groaned as if it was centuries old. The woman sized up the Wardens. "Much as I expected," she said to herself.

Alistair scoffed. "Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" He had an air of flippancy about him, but his eyes were wide and revealed his fear. Her mother was good at scaring people.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe," she explained to him. "Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide, either way, one's a fool." Everything about the woman indicated a complete lack of sanity, but Morrigan knew better than to consider her mother a harmless old bat. She still winced when she thought of the first time she had felt her mother's power.

"She's a witch, I tell you!" whispered the skinny man for the thousandth time. "We shouldn't be talking to her."

"Be quiet, Daveth," snapped Elincia. She looked as if she was about to throttle him.

"If you truly believe she's a witch, you wouldn't want to make her angry," growled the quiet man.

"There's a smart lad," said the old woman in a fake cheerful tone. Her yellow eyes bore into Elincia. "And what of you? Does your elven mind give you a different viewpoint? What do you believe?"

"I believe that I came here to collect documents that belong to the Grey Wardens, not converse with a crazy old woman." She stared straight into the woman's eyes as her response sunk in.

The woman's eyes flashed. "You would do well to hold your tongue, child."

Alistair leaned towards Daveth. "I think you're right. She could be a Witch of the Wilds," he whispered fearfully.

The woman turned her gaze on the man. "'Witch of the Wilds', hmm? Morrigan must have told you that. She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it." She cackled loudly. Morrigan's hands clenched into fists as she debated poisoning her mother's dinner. How dare she share Morrigan's personal thoughts! For that matter, how did she know that much about her? She had certainly never told her mother how much she loved the tales she heard from the Chasind Wilders.

Her gaze travelled from her mother to the Wardens. Elincia, Daveth and the quiet man were focused on her mother, but Alistair was staring at her with an odd expression on his face. He almost looked amused. She glared at him, but he only smirked before turning away.

"They did not come to listen to your wild tales, mother," she said once her mother stopped laughing.

She nodded. "True. They came for their treaties, yes? And before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago." With that, she walked into the hut and returned with a few scrolls. "I have protected these."

Alistair looked furious for a moment. "You took—oh. You protected them." His face flushed and he turned away.

"And why not?" She handed the scrolls to Elincia. "Take them to your Grey Wardens and tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realize."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Elincia. She looked worried.

"Either the threat is more, or they realize less. Or perhaps the threat is nothing!" She laughed. "Or perhaps they realize nothing!" She laughed again. All four Wardens stared incredulously at the old crone before them. "Oh, do not mind me," she gasped through her laughter. "You have what you came for."

Morrigan grinned. "Time for you to go then," she said cheerfully.

"Do not be ridiculous, girl! These are your guests," she said with a pointed look.

Morrigan knew her mother was simply trying to bother her, but she dare not go against her wishes. "Oh. Very well. I'll show you out of the woods. Follow me." She hated the idea of another hour spent in the company of the group. It was days like this when she truly hated her mother.

* * *

The walk to the edge of the Wilds seemed to last an eternity. Alistair's clumsiness got them ambushed twice by darkspawn. Morrigan was becoming more and more impatient by the second. Night had almost fallen and soon they would be surrounded by the repulsive creatures.

The others still didn't know she was a mage, and she wanted to keep it that way. She had trained herself to use her staff as both a magical weapon and a physical one, so she had been able to fight without revealing the full extent of her skills. The others were tired from the day they spent in the Wilds, and it showed when they fought. Their movements were sluggish and the Wardens bled from their many wounds. Morrigan didn't want to be stuck in the forest with four exhausted soldiers and a horde of darkspawn. It was a relief when they emerged from the trees and discovered they were less than two hundred paces from Ostagar.

"This is where I leave you," she said happily. She could finally be rid of them!

"I can't say it's been a pleasure," mumbled Alistair. Elincia discreetly kicked him in the shin. "I-I mean, uh, thank you for helping us on our way."

Morrigan glared at him one last time before turning and walking back into the forest. She reached out with her mind and pulled shadows around herself, creating a cloak of darkness that shielded her from the others and the darkspawn. She changed into a raven again and took wing, soaring from the globe of darkness and into the night sky.

As she flew kept her eyes trained on the forest below. There was an ominous feel to the air. She gave herself a shake and continued to fly. So what if something bad was going to happen at Ostagar? She would be safe at her mother's hut.

She noticed darkspawn hurrying towards Ostagar. The first few she noticed were spread out, a disorganized jumble of bodies racing through the forest. They must be the scouts. If she was correct, the army would not be far behind.

As she flew she tried to stop thinking about what might happen at Ostagar. Why did she care so much about the coming battle? It wouldn't affect her as long she was careful. Life might even be better without having to worry about getting caught by soldiers every time she left the hut. She knew she would be better off with the army gone.

She glanced back down at the ground and nearly toppled from the sky. The darkspawn were nearly coating the ground! Some of them carried torches, giving the appearance of eerie orange stars marching across the forest floor. Sometimes the wind carried a sinister chant to her ears. She shuddered and beat her wings faster. She was eager to be away from the chanting and those awful lights.

She landed just outside her mother's hut. The darkspawn were wading through the swamp on either side, but she knew they couldn't see her or the hut. Her mother's wards were much too powerful for their simple minds to see through. She changed back into herself as she watched them pass. There were so many of them. The human army couldn't hope to hold them off.

She shot a small arc of lightning at a genlock. She watched as it spun around and roared at the hurlock marching behind it. The hurlock screeched as the genlock impaled it on its dagger. The hurlock brought its hammer down on the genlock, shattering its skull It lifted its hammer again and slammed it into another genlock. Thirteen of the creatures lay dead before one of the hurlock alphas could restore order. Morrigan smiled as she examined the results of her spell. It was amazing how weak-minded these creatures were. She waited a few minutes before repeating her spell. She didn't want them to think anything was out of the ordinary. Morrigan was so focused on her spells that she didn't notice she was being watched and had been for some time.

Her mother laid a hand on her shoulder to pull her away from the edge of the wards. She was expressionless as she ushered Morrigan into the hut. Some stew was still left over from dinner. It was cold but Morrigan eagerly gobbled it down. The long walk had drained her energy, and she hadn't eaten since morning. Her mother waited until she was done before bothering to speak.

"I have something to tell you, girl," she said before walking into the other room of the hut. Morrigan sighed. She was tired of being treated like a child, but she couldn't deny her curiosity. She followed her mother.

When she entered the room she discovered two simple cots laid out on the floor. Bandages and small pots of ointment lay beside them. Morrigan looked around the room before turning to stare at her mother. "What is all this for? Surely you don't plan on healing a few random soldiers after the battle."

"I don't plan on healing any 'random soldiers', girl. We'll be needing these before the night is through." She pulled a warm cloak around her shoulders. "Watch over the hut. I'll be away for a few hours."

"Where are you going, mother?" she asked.

She never got a reply. Her mother simply hurried out the door. Morrigan followed her but all she saw was a whirlwind of feathers as her mother disappeared into the night.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Her mother had been gone for hours. Morrigan was beginning to wonder if she was even coming back.

She had killed so many darkspawn that the swamp had turned black with their blood. The horde had been gone for at least an hour. The number of creatures walking by the hut hadn't faded slowly, it had just stopped.

There.

Gone.

There were no sounds, not even the wind. She couldn't shake the feeling that a black void existed just beyond her vision, swallowing everything but her and the small hut.

She had never felt more alone.

It was a ridiculous thought. The entire world couldn't simply be swallowed. It wasn't possible. And besides, it wasn't as if the darkspawn were much company. They would gladly kill her, just as she had gladly killed them. But for some strange reason, the eerie chant and the torches that accompanied their march was comforting. They had a purpose, a purpose that didn't include her. It reassured her that the world still existed past the edge of her vision.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the screech of a bird from high above her. She looked up just as two bodies came hurtling out of the sky. They stopped just before they hit the ground and bounced lightly, as if they had landed on a cushion of air. One of them was the elf she had met earlier that day, Elincia. She was covered in blood, some red and some black, and arrows protruded from her chest. The other was unmistakably Alistair. She hoped he was as dead as he looked.

Her mother stalked past her and into the hut. "Bring them," she ordered.

Morrigan did as she was told and laid the bodies out carefully, one on each cot. She was wondering what use her mother had for the dead Wardens when she heard Elincia's quiet gasp for air. It was barely noticeable, but she was alive.

"Don't just stand there! Get their armor off!" her mother snapped. Morrigan carefully snapped the fletching of the arrows and removed the girl's leather top. The boots and the leather skirt went next. She looked up to see if her mother had undressed the man yet and groaned when she realized she hadn't. Apparently she would have to do that too.

His helmet had fallen off already, so she started on the rest of the armor. She was happy to see that he wore a shirt under his armor, so she wouldn't have to see more of him than she wanted to. He had a pair of tough leather leggings on under his chainmail pants as well. His injuries weren't as severe as Elincia's, but he would still need tending to.

"Tend his wounds," said her mother quietly. She had already set to work on Elincia.

Morrigan realized she must have looked as if she was on her way to the gallows as she worked his shirt of. It was covered in blood clung to the slashes on his torso. She grabbed a bandage and wiped the blood away before she rubbed the ointment in. She finished with the cuts on the front and flipped him over. His back was covered with angry, dark purple bruises. It looked like he had crashed into something hard, probably the stone floors of the fortress. She didn't notice any blood or tears in his leggings and was glad she wouldn't have to take those off as well. She flipped him onto his back and smiled at the thought of him waking up with those bruises. Remaining on the cot or trying to stand would bring excruciating pain. She stood and walked over to her mother. She probably needed help with the girl's injuries.

"Do you need my help, mother?" she asked.

The woman barely looked up from her work as she shoved an armload of bloody bandages into her arms. "Rinse these, and be quick about it!"

Morrigan hurried outside and dunked the bandages into a bucket of water. The water turned dark red with blood. She pulled the bandages out of the bucket only to dunk them back in. They were still soaked with Elincia's blood. It was a wonder the poor girl wasn't dead already. She hung them to dry in the barely perceptible breeze once they had lost their red tinge. She leaned against the hut and shifted her gaze to the sky. She noticed it had lightened slightly and she smiled. Dawn was approaching.

The Wardens were sleeping when she returned to the hut. Her mother was just finishing with a complicated healing spell. She stood at the foot of Elincia's bed as she chanted. A warm light wound around her hands like two ethereal snakes. She debated about helping but quickly decided not to. Healing had never come easily to her, and she still had trouble with the simplest of spells. Her mother would be better off without her. She ran her hands through her hair and found in hopelessly filthy. A bath would be nice.

Morrigan trudged to the small area where the washtub was kept. It was in a small alcove with a curtain covering the entrance to give her some privacy. The tub was already filled, so she undressed and climbed in to discover that the water was ice cold. She winced as she dunked her head under the surface. She grabbed the bar of soap as she surfaced and washed as fast as possible. Her hair clung to her shoulders as she surfaced and wrapped herself in a scratchy towel. Her teeth chattered violently, making it difficult for her to work the tangles out of her hair and climb into her black leggings and wine colored shirt. She was still shivering, but she couldn't do anything about that except pull her black travelling cloak around her shoulders.

She rubbed a dark purple powder above her eyes in such a way that she looked intimidating, as she always did when someone other than her mother might see her. All she had to do was keep her expression neutral and many people would shrink away from her. She smirked at the thought. She left her hair down so it could dry and swept the curtain aside. She might as well get some rest before the sun rose.

* * *

Pain.

It was everywhere. Sometimes it would wash over him in waves, other times it would focus itself in one spot. He drifted in and out of consciousness, aware of the feeling of air rushing across his face, then plummeting, stopping just as he thought that there would be relief, that the pain, everything, would stop. The next thing he could feel was hands, gentle hands. They eased the pain. The hands seemed to leave as soon as they arrived, leaving him alone. Alone with the dull ache that he wished would just go away and leave him in peace.

He knew that something terrible had happened, that he had to get up, move. Someone needed his help, but he didn't know who. He tried to scream, whisper, do _something_, but he was held back by exhaustion. He wanted, _needed_, to wake up.

Sleep had held him for so long that he thought it was a dream when he finally opened his eyes. He turned his head slowly to the side and glanced at his surroundings. He was in a small room, laying slightly above the floor. There was a fire going, lending warmth to the room. There was a small doorway leading to another room. He turned his head in the other direction and gasped.

Elincia lay on a thin cot, much like the one he was laying on. A blanket covered her from feet to neck. She looked pale, much paler than she usually did. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even, so he calmed slightly. Blood soaked her blanket in a few places, bringing back snippets of how they had been injured. He remembered a battle…he had a mission, him and Elincia. They were supposed to light a signal…

The details of the battle rushed him all at once. He and Elincia had been told to light the beacon, the beacon that would signal Teryn Loghain. He was supposed to lead half the Ferelden army against the darkspawn horde. That was the plan.

Everything had gone wrong. Darkspawn had invaded the tower before they got there. A few soldiers had joined them as they fought their way to the top of the tower, only to get there too late. They lit the beacon, but moments later…

He shook his head and pounded his fists against his eyes, trying to block out the awful images. Arrows plunging into Elincia's chest, the soldiers screaming as the darkspawn ripped at them with swords, teeth, their evil eyes glinting in the firelight.

And then they were upon him, beating and slashing. One screeched in glee, spraying saliva on his face. He remembered screaming, thrashing, being held against the ground as they tried to bite into his flesh. They took their time, savoring every moment of his terror. And then…blackness.

He sat up with a shout. It was over. He was safe. But the rest of the army…Duncan…where were they?

His shout had alerted someone in the other room and he could hear them hurrying towards the door. He scanned the room for a weapon in case he had to defend himself. He couldn't be helpless again, not like when he was in the tower… No. He _wouldn't _think about that.

To his surprise it was Morrigan that swept into the room. She yawned into her hand and glared at him. That seemed normal, at least for her.

"Where am I?" he asked, wary of the girl's every movement.

"In my mother's hut, of course," she said, sounding bored. She moved closer to him and he flinched away.

"Stop," she ordered. He stared at a spot on the wall just over her shoulder as she untied his bandages and rubbed a strange salve into his wounds. Her touch reminded him of something he had felt before. He knew she had never even come near him until now, unless…

"Were you the one who healed me last night?" he asked.

She stared at him for a moment before she returned to her work. "'Twas not my choice," she snapped. "Mother needed me to heal you while she saved the girl." She finished with his wounds and stood quickly. "Mother said she wishes to speak with you. Your armor is in the chest." She swept out of the room just as quickly as she had swept in. He sank back onto the cot but sat up immediately. He gently touched his back and discovered that it was badly bruised.

He pulled his armor on as quickly as he could manage with his wounds and hurried out of the hut.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long! I have no excuse other than incredible laziness (hangs head in shame). I have noticed that I might be portraying Morrigan slightly OOC, but this is my genuine interpretation of her. My character became very good friends with Morrigan in my play through, and she got to see a nicer, less bitchy side of her that just wants a friend. Also, Elincia Mahariel is not a self-insertion, I just happened to like the name I stole from Fire Emblem a lot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. I'm a high school student, so that can be expected.**

**Chapter 5**

A half-day's travel north of Ostagar, far away from the awful stench of death filtering from the battlefield, the forest was teeming with life. Autumn was well underway, and the wildlife was completely oblivious to what would soon befall their idyllic lives. They lived as they always had, only disturbed by the small group of travelers that trudged along the muddy trail.

"Are we supposed to believe that your mother is actually Flemeth?" Alistair asked. "'Witch of the Wilds' Flemeth?"

"That is what she told you, is it not?" Morrigan replied, in a tone that suggested he should never have asked.

Elincia sighed. Alistair had been asking that same question all morning, and both her and Morrigan were growing tired of it. He always raised his eyebrows in a ridiculous fashion and spoke as if he still couldn't believe what Morrigan had told him countless times.

Morrigan's mother, or Flemeth as she said her name was, had decided to send Morrigan with them. At the time it had sounded like a great idea, considering Morrigan's knowledge of the wilds, but the long walk had been miserable so far. Luckily, they seemed to be making good time and would reach Lothering before nightfall. At least, that was what Morrigan said.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp tug deep in her body that pulsed in time with her blood. A terrible chant echoed in her ears and her vision blurred. She rubbed her hands across her eyes and breathed deeply as the feeling started to become bearable. Alistair had drawn his sword by the time she had regained her focus. He was watching the path ahead as if he expected it to come alive with darkspawn. She drew breath to speak just as the chanting intensified again…and a mabari galloped into sight.

Morrigan chuckled. "I didn't know a dog could send two so-called warriors into a panic."

Alistair ignored her. "Do you feel that?" he asked Elincia.

Elincia nodded. She had felt that same sensation during the battle at Ostagar, though it had been more intense. Alistair had taken the time to explain to her that that tug meant darkspawn were close. She calmly drew her bow and aimed at the path ahead.

A half-score of hurlocks and genlocks charged around the bend, weapons drawn and gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun. Elincia was about to fire when the first seven creatures were enveloped in a whirlwind of freezing air. They didn't have time to scream before they were frozen solid. She tore her eyes away from the spectacle just as Morrigan stepped in front of her and began to chant. A stone fist appeared in the air and smashed the frozen creatures into icy shards.

"She really is a witch," she whispered to herself. _And a good one,_ she thought.

The three darkspawn who escaped the blast charged at Alistair, but he barely had time to raise his sword before Elincia shot one of them in the chest and the dog pounced on the other two. He knocked both of them to the ground at the same time with his powerful legs and raked his claws along their torsos. The darkspawn were bleeding from a dozen wounds before they realized what had happened. Alistair stared indignantly at the bloody corpses for a long moment before sheathing his sword.

"You can't even let me kill one?" he asked as he jokingly glared at the dog. "Just _one_!" The dog barked happily as he stood atop the two bleeding piles of flesh.

Elincia laughed. "Why are you glaring at him? Morrigan killed most of them. She is quite skilled with magic. Daveth was right about her being a witch!"

Alistair whirled around to stare at Morrigan and the icy shards of darkspawn. All the humor was gone from his scowl. "I knew it! You're an apostate, just like your mother!" he said. His voice was full of venom and his fists were clenched.

Morrigan smirked. "You took much longer than expected to figure that out. It appears I overestimated your intelligence."

"I should turn you into the Chantry!" he yelled. "Mages are not allowed to be outside the Circle!" He took a step forward and Morrigan raised her staff. Alistair's hand flew to his sword and he crouched slightly in a threatening stance.

Elincia quickly stepped between them to ward off the impending battle. A fight was the last thing they needed. "Can someone explain what an apostate is?" she asked. Perhaps she could distract them until they calmed down. Or perhaps not.

"Apostates are mages who wish to be free of the chains of the Circle," Morrigan explained. "We cannot be faulted for taking our freedom." Her staff had not lowered and her eyes had not left Alistair's.

"I used to be a Templar," said Alistair. "I know that mages are kept in the Circle for their own good." He tightened his grip on his sword. "They need protection from the demons that might possess them. Mages who leave the Circle are usually blood mages who don't wish to follow the rules."

Morrigan raised an eyebrow. "Do you really believe the lies the Chantry are feeding you?"

"They aren't lies!" he protested as he started to draw his sword. Morrigan's staff started to glow. "You believe everything Flemeth says, don't you? Have you ever thought for yourself?"

"Would you both just shut up?" yelled Elincia. The others quieted instantly, which surprised her. "You may not like it, but you're stuck with each other and will be for a long time. If all you are going to do is argue, I swear to the Creators I will feed you to the darkspawn myself!" She paused to suck in a breath. "Let's just focus on getting to Lothering in one piece. Can you manage that?" She fixed each of them with a pointed glare until they took the hint and lowered their weapons.

Morrigan glowered at Alistair. "Fine," she spat. "But if he threatens me again, I—"

She was interrupted by a loud bark. The dog Elincia had seen was sitting on the path a few paces away from the trio. Its tongue hung from its mouth and it had what could only be described as a smile on its face. Its fur was dirty and matted with blood. Elincia bent down to scratch its head. "I think I recognize this dog," she said after a few moments. "He could be the one I met at the mabari kennel in Ostagar. He had been infected with the Taint." _Much like I was._

"I think he was out here looking for you," said Alistair. "He seems to have chosen you. Mabari are like that." He bit his lip slightly.

A grin spread across Elincia's face as she stood up. "He _is_ good in a fight," she mused, though that wasn't the only reason she wanted to keep him. "Do I need to name him?" she asked. At that moment, she couldn't think of a single name that would suit her dog.

Alistair cocked his head and stared thoughtfully at the dog. "Whatever his name is, it should start with 'Ser'. He looks very…noble." The dog barked loudly and Alistair laughed. "I think he agrees!"

Morrigan chuckled to herself. "It appears we have a _dog _and Alistair is still the dumbest in the party."

"Hey!" he whined. "That really hurt, you know." Elincia wondered if it was possible for Alistair to be any more sarcastic.

An idea suddenly came to her as the dog barked. "I know what we can name him!" she exclaimed. "Ser Barksly."

Morrigan snorted derisively and crossed her arms. "That's a terrible name for a dog." Ser Barksly promptly trotted over to her and snuggled against her leg. Morrigan darted away in disgust and shot a pleading look at Elincia. "Keep your mangy beast away from me!" she cried.

Alistair knelt beside the dog and gave him a playful hug. "He's not mangy," he said in a voice that was usually reserved for babies. Elincia chuckled at the ridiculous display as Ser Barksly wriggled out of Alistair's rough embrace. He turned his large face towards Morrigan and wagged his tail before running over to Elincia and sitting obediently by her side.

Morrigan sighed. The entire world had gone mad. "Can we please just get underway? If we keep walking instead of playing with the dog, we will reach Lothering soon."

* * *

Morrigan was wrong. Night had long since fallen and they were nowhere near Lothering. Both Alistair and Elincia had wanted to keep travelling through the night, but they soon realized that Morrigan was nearly asleep on her feet. She hadn't slept for more than a few hours the night before, and she desperately needed the rest. Reluctantly, they stopped to make camp in a clearing about a hundred paces from the muddy road. The clearing was surrounded by tall, thick trees that nearly blocked the cold wind that had started shortly after the sun disappeared below the treetops.

Morrigan sighed as she sorted through her pack. She had packed everything she thought she would need for the journey, but that still left her pack nearly empty. All she had brought was a change of clothes, her staff, a few lyrium potions, and elfroot leaves in case she needed them. "Absolutely _brilliant, _Morrigan," she grumbled to herself. "Bring everything but a bed roll! You will definitely _never _need one on the long, cold nights of camping in the blasted Ferelden wilderness." She stared enviously at the others, who were laying out the bed rolls Flemeth had given them. Morrigan had insisted that Flemeth did not need to pack her bag for her like she was a child, but it was clear that she was still a scared little girl who needed her mother to take care of her. _No, _she thought. _I do not need _her _anymore. When this is all over, I swear I will not go running back to that controlling bitch._

Alistair moved away from the camp to take the first watch as faint sounds of snoring started to drift from the other side of the clearing. Elincia had clearly already gone to sleep. The dog had curled up next to her. Morrigan refused to call him 'Ser Barksly'. It was a horrid name, and he seemed to like it. For some reason, the dog liked Morrigan much more than he should have. Morrigan had made her opinion of the mutt abundantly clear, but it still tried to walk beside her and lick her hand when she wasn't looking. Ironically, she would almost welcome the dog's presence right now. It smelled awful, but it was far warmer than her or the cold, hard ground she would have to sleep on.

Exhaustion eventually got the better of her fear of freezing to death in her sleep, so she lay down on a small patch of ground that seemed warmer and drier than the rest. She used her bag as a pillow and pulled her cloak around herself as a makeshift blanket. It wasn't comfortable, but it would do the trick. As she lay there, trying to still the chattering of her teeth, she thought back to her argument with Alistair. He had probably realized that she was a mage as soon as he met her, but he was too much of a coward to confront her about it until he knew for sure. Luckily, Elincia didn't care that she was a mage, so she could keep Alistair from turning her over to the Chantry. His being a Templar did trouble her though. He had powers that could counter any spell she unleashed on him. Hopefully, he would never decide to use them on her.

What was most bothersome was that he seemed to think he was superior to her in every way. He had spoken to her like he knew everything there was to know about mages. She had brushed aside all the insults he had thrown at her, mostly because he was wrong and partly because she didn't care. They were all gone from her mind. All but one. _Have you ever thought for yourself? _That simple question had been what bothering her constantly.

_It does not matter. He is wrong about me. _With that she closed her eyes and let exhaustion take her. As she drifted off to sleep, one thought still plagued her.

What if he was right?


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Oi! Travelers!"

"Oh no," grumbled Alistair as the dark-haired man on the road ahead jogged towards him. He wore ratty looking armor and carried two daggers on his belt. His companions followed his lead and formed up behind him. They had tipped over a few wagons and stacked crates to form a few makeshift barriers. The road was completely blocked. _We almost made it to Lothering without trouble or nasty beasties, and now this._

"What's going on?" Elincia asked. "Who are they?" Her brow was furrowed and her head cocked to one side. She made no move to draw her bow, but she looked tense, as usual.

"Bandits, preying on those fleeing the darkspawn," he hissed from the corner of his mouth. Elincia immediately reached for her bow, but Alistair put his hand on her arm. "Not yet," he whispered. She took the hint and dropped her hand back to her side.

"They are fools," Morrigan scoffed. "I say, teach them a lesson!" Alistair cringed at how loudly she was talking.

"Speak a little louder. I don't think they heard you in Denerim," he muttered.

The lead bandit pulled to a halt in front of them, but behind to first stack of crates. He smiled, showing all of his slightly yellow teeth. "Now, is that any way to greet someone?" he asked in a high, nasal voice.

The heavily muscled man behind him nodded. "Yeah!" Alistair almost laughed as the man's eyes widened when he noticed Alistair's sword and Elincia's longbow. "Uh…they don't look like them others. Maybe we should let them go," he mumbled to the leader.

The leader chuckled. "Nonsense! Everyone has to pay the _toll_. That's why it's a _toll_, not a refugee tax." He heavily emphasized the word 'toll', and the other man seemed to take the hint.

"Oh, right!" he said, nodding enthusiastically. "Everyone pays toll!" The bandit leader nodded.

The leader smiled again. "Ten silvers, and you can be on your way." His men had fanned out behind him and they casually loosened their weapons in their sheathes. _Wonderful. They intend on killing us when we don't pay, _thought Alistair.

Elincia laughed humorlessly and drew her daggers. "You aren't collecting toll!" she exclaimed before Alistair could stop her. "You're bandits!"

The burly man drew his axe. "We'll just take from your dead body, then!" he yelled.

Alistair tried desperately to think of a way to get out of the fight. "Do you really want to fight us?" he asked.

The leader shrugged. "If it means I get your money, then most definitely!" he said as he drew his daggers. The rest of the bandits drew their weapons and charged at the group. A crossbowman stood behind the second row of crates, and he was aiming straight at Alistair. Luckily, Alistair had taken to keeping his shield on his arm, so he swung it up quickly to block the first shot from the crossbowman. He held his shield in front of him as the muscled bandit charged at him with his axe held high above his head. His intention to cleave Alistair's head in was obvious, but even a glancing blow from that axe would leave him reeling. Alistair waited for the man to reach him, then sidestepped. The man's axe bounced off the hard cobbles of the Imperial Highway. Alistair took advantage of the short reprieve as the bandit recovered and drew his sword. The bandit turned towards Alistair and charged again.

Alistair sidestepped his second vicious blow and smashed his shield into the man's side, sending the man crashing into a stack of crates. Without thinking, he slashed at the man's neck with his sword, spraying blood everywhere.

Not black, darkspawn blood.

Red blood.

_Human _blood.

Alistair hesitated for a moment as he stared into the man's lifeless eyes. _Maker, what have I done? _

That moment of hesitation was a moment too long, however. Pain nearly blinded him as crossbow blot thudded into his leg, piercing through his armor. He bit back a scream and turned towards the crossbowman, just in time to watch the man be enveloped in flames. Morrigan stood a short distance away, already in the midst of casting another spell. _I didn't think I would _ever_ be glad to have _her _around_, he thought.

A loud cry brought him back to the fight. Elincia was fighting desperately to fend off three attackers, but she was most definitely losing. The bandits had pushed her back against one of the wagons. Ser Barksly fought beside her, doing his best to keep her from being harmed. Despite their efforts, Elincia had several nasty looking slashes on her arms, and Barksly looked even worse than she did. Alistair quickly ran to help, gritting his teeth every time he put weight on his wounded leg.

He thrust his sword into the back of the first man he met. This time, he couldn't afford to hesitate. He withdrew his blade in time to parry a quick chop from the bandit leader. The leader was skilled with his daggers, and Alistair found himself relying heavily on his shield to divert most of the attacks. The man grew more and more confident, and more reckless, as he drove Alistair back. Alistair ducked as the leader thrust one of his daggers at his face, and he thrust his sword into the man's stomach. Blood gushed from the wound as he forced his sword hilt deep into the man. He quickly pulled his sword out and turned away. He _was not_ going to watch as the life left his eyes.

He turned toward the last bandit, the one Elincia was still struggling with. The bandit abruptly dropped to the ground and with a scream after Elincia delivered a well-aimed kick between his legs. Alistair cringed and instinctively lowered his shield for…better protection. _Getting on her bad side could end very, very badly._

The bandit let out a final scream as Elincia plunged both of her daggers into his chest. She quickly pulled her weapons free and shrank away from the dead man. _Looks like she's never killed anyone either, _he thought.

A noise from behind him made Alistair jump. He turned and saw Morrigan, who just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. She was casually leaning against her staff.

"If you are done panicking, we should search the bodies," she remarked calmly, with her usual undertone of sarcasm. _Well, if she's all broken up about killing people, she's doing a good job of hiding it, _thought Alistair.

Elincia got up and wiped her daggers clean before sheathing them. "Wouldn't it be better to just search the wagons?" asked Elincia. "That's probably where they put all the money they stole." She bit her lip and glanced at the corpses nervously.

Alistair nodded. "She has a point."

Morrigan threw up her hands. "Fine! I'll do it, since you're too _squeamish_." With that, she knelt beside the dead man nearest to her and started searching through the pouches on his belt.

"I'm not squeamish," he mumbled. "I just don't want to touch a dead man."

Elincia snorted. "I think that counts as being squeamish, Alistair." She smiled tentatively at him, as if to say that she was joking, before walking away to search the wagons.

After a few moments, he tried to follow, but a stab of pain in his leg reminded him of the crossbow bolt he had taken just below his knee. He sat down on a nearby crate and set his shield down beside him. He took a quick look at his wound and discovered that the bolt had almost gone straight through his leg, so only the tip was poking out the other side. It had also pierced through a gap in his armor, which could make getting it out easier. At least, that was what he thought. He pulled the armor off his leg, and somehow managed to not touch his wound. His leg didn't hurt too much, but he knew from an arrow wound he had gotten during a skirmish with the darkspawn that getting the bolt _out _would hurt much more. He started to pull on the bolt, but yelped in pain as soon as it began to shift inside his leg. Morrigan looked up from the body she was pillaging a dozen paces away and laughed.

"Oh, of course you find this funny," he said through clenched teeth. "Getting shot happens to hurt."

"Really? Does it now?" she asked. "I would not know, as _I_ have never been stupid enough to stand around and wait for someone to shoot me." She calmly stood up and dusted her hands off on her shirt. "Besides, you're doing a _terrible_ job of removing that."

"Fine! If you're such an amazing healer, why don't you do it?" he snapped.

Morrigan snorted. "I do not heal the wounds of idiots!"

"You healed me once already," he pointed out. "Or was that just because your mommy told you to?" A smirk spread across his face as Morrigan walked closer to him with a scowl on her face. _Now I know what bothers her._

Morrigan stopped just in front of him, paused for a moment, then snorted and rolled her eyes. "Get Elincia to do it. She happens to put up with you, although I cannot _imagine_ why any sensible being would," she said with a smirk before strutting away.

_Bitch_, he thought. He twisted until he was facing away from Morrigan, and so he could see Elincia. "Elincia!" he called.

She turned away from the crate she was sorting through and walked over to him. Ser Barksly followed her, as he always did. "Look what I found," she said as she sat down beside him. She tossed a pouch of coins into the air and caught it. "There are easily two hundred silvers in here, and that was just in the one chest! There's got to be more somewhere. I found some bandages and armor in there too." She bit her lip uncertainly. "I think we can sell the armor as long as it isn't all covered in blood."

Alistair nodded. "It might not fetch a good price, but a little extra coin would be good." He winced as his leg throbbed painfully. "Also, could I use some of those bandages?"

Elincia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you need—" She glanced at his leg and noticed his wound. "Oh." She immediately slid off the crate and pulled a roll of bandages out of her pack. She knelt beside him and started gently wiping away the blood on his leg.

"I didn't even ask you to help me yet," he said in confusion. How did she know what he was going to say?

She looked up. "I know how to treat arrow wounds. Crossbow bolts can't be any different. Trust me; there is no way you can do this yourself." She looked down and quickly unrolled the bandage. "Even if I do it for you, you will still cry like a little girl."

_I really hope she's joking, _he thought. As it was, there was no way Morrigan would let him forget all the screaming he'd done. "Good to know. Just don't let Morrigan hear. I might just die of embarrassment. Or she'll kill me first."

Elincia laughed. "Don't worry, I'll shoot her the second she starts making jokes. Just so she knows what an arrow in the knee feels like."

"I certainly wouldn't want to miss that," he chuckled. "This may sound like a stupid question, but where did you learn how to treat wounds? You told me you were a hunter," he said. "Unless you liked practicing on dead animals, which doesn't seem like something you would do." He chuckled, but stopped when he felt her hand on one end of the bolt, where the fletching was. He tensed up his leg in anticipation the pain, but that only made it throb more.

"_I_ have never removed an arrow," she said calmly. "But I have watched as one was removed. It did not look difficult."

Her confidence made him relax. "When was that?" he asked. He heard a quiet snap, and pain lanced through his leg. He yelped, which Morrigan didn't fail to chuckle at. "Can you just_ die_, or something?" he screamed at Morrigan. Ser Barksly laid his ears back and growled at Alistair. "Thanks," he grumbled sarcastically. "I don't think your dog likes me very much."

Elincia held up the fletching from the bolt, which she had snapped off. "To answer your question, I managed to shoot..." She paused and bit her lip. "…my friend in the arm during our first hunt."

Alistair laughed. "I bet she was happy about that."

Elincia nodded. "_He _was actually laughing about it a few days later. I acted suitably horrified in front of people, but it was hilarious." She smiled. "It was his fault, too. He decided to sneak up on me while I had an arrow nocked in my bow!"

Alistair laughed again, but screamed loudly when pain wrenched through his leg again. Elincia tossed the other end of the bolt away. She quickly rubbed a salve into the wound, then started wrapping the bandage around his leg to stem the blood flow.

"Maker, what did you do?" he asked through gritted teeth. _Damn, that hurt._

"I had to push the arrow through the wound. Trust me, it would have hurt more if I pulled it out the other way," she stated plainly.

He winced as she pulled that bandage tight. "I don't know if I'll be able to walk for a few minutes," he groaned. His leg ached more than it had when the bolt was still stuck in there.

"You are quite right. In fact, you may never walk again," Morrigan said with a badly hidden touch of glee. She must have wandered over while he was screaming. "I would advise removing the leg altogether."

Elincia shook her head. "It's just an arrow wound. There's no need for that." She looked completely serious. _She has to realize that Morrigan is making a very twisted joke._

Morrigan just stared at Elincia in disbelief for a moment before turning back to Alistair. "Get up, Templar! You are fine." She quickly turned on her heel and walked away, heading past the barricades and towards Lothering. "Sadly," she mumbled once she was almost out of earshot.

A look of complete confusion crossed Elincia's face. "I…suppose we should get going," she said quietly and followed Morrigan. Alistair quickly struggled to his feet and limped after her, his leg throbbing with every step.

Luckily, Morrigan and Elincia had stopped walking as soon as Lothering was fully visible. All the time they had been travelling from Ostagar, the trees had blocked everything from sight. Now, all of Lothering could be seen. _Not that it's overly spectacular,_ he thought. Lothering was packed full of people, mostly refugees from the looks of them. Some had tents, others had nothing but the clothes on their backs. A horrible stench emanated from the town, a mixture of shit and something that needed a bath. The town looked about as hopeless as Alistair felt. How could two Grey Wardens possibly save all of these people from the Blight? He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. _ One thing at a time_, he thought. Right now, that one thing was getting into Lothering.

Elincia and Morrigan didn't so much as turn to look at him when he finally limped over to them. Like him, they had been staring at the people milling about the streets. Elincia looked a bit like she was going to sick, and Morrigan's expression was unreadable.

"Well, there it is. Lothering. Pretty as a painting," he remarked sarcastically.

"Not really," Elincia grumbled.

Alistair coughed as an awkward silence grew. "Anyway," he said after a while. "I thought we should talk about where we intend to go, after we leave Lothering."

Elincia shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe we should try using those treaties, like Flemeth suggested."

Alistair nodded. "There are three main groups we have treaties for: the Dalish elves, the dwarves of Ozammar, and the Circle of Magi." He paused and thought for a moment. "I also think Arl Eamon is our best bet at the moment. He's the Arl of Redcliffe, which isn't too far from here."

Elincia bit her lip. "That sounds promising." She turned to Morrigan. "What do you think?"

Morrigan snorted. "You must remember that this man…Loghain, was it?" She waited for a nod from Elincia before she continued. "He will no doubt be hunting you. After all, you know what really happened at Ostagar. If you have to sneak around all the time, you will never gather an army in time to end the Blight. Ferelden will be utterly destroyed," she stated.

To Alistair's surprise, Elincia nodded. "It would be better if we didn't have to sneak, but I don't see how that's possible."

Morrigan smirked. "It is quite simple. All you must do is find Loghain and kill him. Then, you can go about your business in safety."

Alistair rolled his eyes. "Yes, great plan. He certainly would never see that coming! And it's not like he has the advantage of experience and an entire _army _and—"

Morrigan interrupted him. "I was asked for my opinion, and I gave it. If your wish is to come up with reasons why something _cannot_ be done, we will stand here until the darkspawn are upon us!"

_Bitch_. "There is absolutely no way—"

"Enough!" yelled Elincia. It was surprising how _loud_ she could be for someone so small. A few of the refugees were staring. Elincia didn't seem to notice.

"I told you yesterday what I would do if you started…" She gestured vaguely at Alistair and Morrigan. "…_this_ again. Once you can both grow up a little bit, we'll talk about where we're going." Alistair opened his mouth to protest and she shushed him. "This discussion is over!" With that, she turned and stomped into Lothering.

"Did she just _shush_ me?" he asked of no one in particular.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for this chapter randomly cutting off, but more stuff will follow! I was just getting a bit frustrated because the chapter was getting really long and I still had about half of it to go. The next half is going pretty quickly, but exams are creeping up on me so it might take longer than anticipated. Anyway, please R&R! I welcome criticism, and praise if you have any.**


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